BY LISA ELLISON
Denise Tonkin, founder and facilitator of Renew, invites individuals to attend an “Out of Hiding” event Tuesdays from April 16 through May 21.
Sessions will be from 6:30-8 p.m. at Kingdom Evangelical Methodist Church, 540 Fairmont Road in Westover.
Renew is a holistic health program of The Way, through The Source Foundation — thesourcewv.org.
Tonkin is a certified integrative medicine provider for mental health. She can be reached through The Source website or by calling 304-612-8860.
Tonkin said the spring 2024 theme encourages women “to come out of a place in life that is hidden away and needs to be faced and overcome.”
Tonkin was born in Canada, but moved to West Virginia as a child. She fell in love with the mountains and wanted to help others from a young age. She has a bachelor’s in psychology, and a master’s degree in counseling. She became a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in two years before adding a master’s in business administration (MBA) in 2012. Part of her service to the community has been “faith-based services for Canadian missions, crisis work, clinical management, military work and multiple local program developments,” she said.
In 2016, Tonkin also became a licensing supervisor for newly graduated therapists. That began her focus on clinical counseling and biblical discipleship for girls and women, which has continued. She described a “deep longing to empower girls and women to see how beautiful and truly loved they are — finding healing and freedom to thrive.”
Tonkin and Renew focuses on the whole self since 2020. After many years of not feeling her best, she pursued natural medicine. The results were so profound in her own life that she pursued this professionally, she said.
“Girls and women of all ages are welcome to attend the retreat with Renew. We have seen women of all walks of life as a part of Renew, anywhere from ages 10 and up,” Tonkin said. “The largest part of the population is probably around age 21-50.”
Just 35 attended the first retreat in 2021, but now Tonkin sees more than 275. She hopes to expand and continue to empower women and girls of all ages. Tonkin wants to bring in more nationally known speakers and attendees from other states.
Last year’s retreat featured a different speaker each week, and Tonkin is excited for 2024 events.
The 2024 speakers include Tonkin, Sharon McKinney, Susan Coleman and Caroline Scherer. More additions for 2024 include live worship and an art session in week five.
